Apple Building Its Third Solar Farm

No Comments

And here I thought that when Steve Jobs died, the company would falter… I guess I was wrong.

Ok, so I am not talking about their computers and phones, which, in my opinion, are not as well-made as they were just a few short years ago. As much as I am an Apple fanboy, I can admit that out loud. Wow, that hurt.

But anyways…

A few years back Apple decided to start building its own solar farm(s) to power its data centers because the company couldn’t buy clean energy from the local utility company Duke Energy. The company already has two solar farm and fuel cell facilities online, and today announced a third solar farm, encompassing 100 acres near its Maiden, North Carolina center, which will be capable of generating 17.5 megawatts of power. Apple will be investing $55 million in the project.

The company’s existing renewable energy plants deliver 35 megawatts of power, and this new plant will put capacity over 50 megawatts, more energy than the company is currently using in its data centers.

According to the Hickory Record, construction will take place over the next 5 years and will provide for upwards of 75 jobs in the community.

Apple has a goal of running all its data centers on 100% renewable energy, so this should help it continue working towards that. This goal, in combination with its goals of manufacturing more machines here in the USA and reducing the mining/use of toxic chemicals, should go a long ways towards making the company’s technology more sustainable. That is, if it can stop introducing new gadgets every few months, which contributes to the electronic waste problem the entire world is facing. Let’s hope that Apple works on that issue next.